Conventional actuators alone do not prevent the ingress of unwanted contaminants or the like from entering bearing packing areas, which can lead to microbial pathogen growth, oxidation of metallic surfaces, and/or the displacement of the lubricants in the bearing packing areas of the actuator. In an attempt to address this issue, conventional sanitary, hygienic, or washdown-capable actuators often utilize various rubber, fluoroelastomer, or metallic washdown scrapers, wipers, or seals as a method of preventing food products and liquids from entering into the bearing housing. The wipers and lip seals in traditional bearing housing assemblies contain greases and other lubricants in areas within the bearing housing where friction is likely to be present between sliding, rolling, or rotating elements of the actuator. Examples include internal piston and cylinder sliding elements of pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders to the outboard support and guide bearings and pillow block assemblies of guided actuators. In addition to retaining the lubricants in the housing or bearing packing area, conventional sealing mechanisms are intended to provide a barrier against the intrusion of water, chemicals, dust, debris, or contaminants. However, the sealing mechanisms are ineffective at preventing the ingress of undesirable contaminants, liquids, and solids from entering the bearing packing areas. For example, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulated sanitary and hygienic cleaning processes typical in a food production or food handling environment commonly require the application of high temperature, pressurized water jets, caustic cleansers, soaps, and acids. The infiltration of cleaning agents, degreasers, and the like to the packing area can displace the lubricants. Thus, many lubricants on elements of the actuator are not retained due to a lack of resistence to various cleaning agents, and may be flushed out by repeated wash-down procedures. The same degreasing agents approved or listed with the FDA or National Science Foundation (NSF) for food and beverage equipment applied with the intent to remove proteins and animal fats from food service equipment can be equally as effective in removing petroleum and the like based lubricants and greases from areas prone to high friction in actuators. Once an undesirable foreign substance enters the packing area, it can be difficult to remove without the complete disassembly, cleaning, and rebuilding of the assembly.